Blog:Tesco tests 'sat-nav' system to guide customers in-store

Hot on the heels of Marks and Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland admitting earlier this week that his stores were "difficult to shop", Tesco has revealed that it is testing a 'sat-nav' system to guide customers through its stores.

Tesco is testing a prototype system at its Extra store in Romford store that can be downloaded on Android mobile phones. It will ask consumers to enter their shopping list before guiding them to the location of each item.

"The new service is able to show you where all your wanted products are on a store map, show you where you are on that map, and guide you round the store to pick up your products using the shortest route," said Tesco.com head of R&D Nick Lansley on Monday (24 May).

A Tesco spokesperson played down the importance of the move, saying that the retailer is "currently conducting a trial in our Romford Extra store. We have no plans to roll this out further at the current time".

The spokesperson confirmed that Tesco trials all of its innovation in the Romford store, and that the move was just one of 15-20 things that it would test this year.

If the trial is successful, this new app is likely to only be the tip of the iceberg for Tesco as, in the past, Lansley has highlighted the importance the retailer places on innovation and developing solutions to help its customers shop better.

In France, Casino has already developed an app that uses a real-time marketing engine to create personalised offers sent to their iPhones while they shop, as well as allowing them to scan their food and pay using their mobile phone.

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